Not applicable.
Not applicable.
This invention relates generally to brooms. Brooms are sometimes classified as either xe2x80x9cpushxe2x80x9d brooms or xe2x80x9cuprightxe2x80x9d brooms. Upright brooms are often wider, and generally have relatively long fibers, with a handle aligned with the fibers to facilitate side-to-side sweeping. Push brooms generally have relatively short fibers set in a wide block, with a handle set at an angle to facilitate pushing the broom. Push brooms often have detachable handles. A detachable handle facilitates shipping, and can permit the handle to be reversed to prolong the life of the fibers. This invention specifically relates to brooms with detachable handles.
Conventionally, detachable handles are connected to broom heads by screwing a threaded end of the handle into a threaded aperture in the broom head. For some time it has been known that one of the problems with such brooms is that the handles can rotate and become loose during use. Various efforts have been made to solve this problem.
U.S. Pat. No. 138,946, for example, discloses the use of a set screw (g) that can be engaged against the handle of a broom in an effort to prevent rotation and loosening of the handle. The same idea was subsequently used in U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,440.
U.S. Pat. No. 755,985 discloses a bracket with curved plates (e) and (exe2x80x2) that can be tightened against the handle to reduce rotation. A more elaborate implementation of the same idea can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,015,263. The ""263 patent discloses a set of opposing members 3 with inwardly projecting concave members that automatically tighten against the broom handle as the handle is threaded into the broom head. More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,916 appears to disclose the use of curved sidewalls to resist rotation of a handle without any additional mechanism for tightening the sidewalls.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,785,564; 1,983,923; and 4,293,972 disclose various implementations of the idea of passing a bolt or pin through a hole in a handle to prevent its rotation.
One early solution to the problem of handle loosening is suggested by U.S. Pat. No. 619,252. In that patent, as well as in later U.S. Pat. No. 2,090,412, rotation of the handle is prevented by mounting the handle in a square aperture, rather than a rounded one. One course, the use of a square aperture prevents the use of threads, thus requiring a separate mechanism for axially retaining the handle to the broom head. In the ""252 patent, bails J are used to axially retain the handle.
More recently, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,541,139 and 5,172,447 address the problem of handle rotation by providing a cap that can be screwed onto slotted portions of a collet surrounding the handle. As the cap is screwed onto the slotted portions, the collet tightens against the broom handle, providing resistance to rotation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,862 discloses a metal bracket I that can be secured to the broom head after an opening 8 is passed over an end of the handle. The bracket is secured to the broom head by separate screws 18, 19. The lower end of the broom handle is provided with multi-sided section 26 that has the same geometric shape as the opening of the bracket, preventing the handle from being turned after the bracket is secured in place. While generally useful, this arrangement has several significant drawbacks.
The need to pass the bracket over an end of the handle can be inconvenient. It is sometimes desirable to provide the upper end of a broom with a shaped or cushioned handle, such as the one shown in U.S. Pat. No. 346,543, and such handles cannot readily be provided if the bracket must be able to pass over the upper end of the handle. A large handle, for example, would require a large opening in the bracket, which would accordingly require an even further enlarged multi-sided section at the bottom of the handle.
The use of the pair of screws disclosed in ""862 patent for securing the bracket to the broom head can also be inconvenient. The disclosed screws require that additional holes be drilled into the broom head, adding costs, detracting from the appearance of the product, and potentially reducing its strength.
Finally, the arrangement disclosed in the ""862 patent may not be completely secure if the fully-engaged position of the handle in the broom head (i.e, the position where the handle is tightest in the broom head) occurs at a position where the multi-sided section does not angularly correspond with the configuration of the opening in the bracket. For example, if the bracket of FIG. 4c of the ""862 patent is used with a multi-sided section having the same configuration, the threaded end of the broom handle may bottom out in the threaded hole 15 in a position where the curved ends of the multi-sided section are 10 degrees short of the necessary position for securing the bracket to the broom head. If so, the handle will need to be unscrewed 170 degrees before the multi-sided section and the hole again align to enable the bracket to be secured in place. Such extensive unscrewing of the handle may result in wobble of the handle or other undesirable characteristics.
What is needed is an alternative and more convenient bracket arrangement for preventing rotation of the handle of a broom with respect to the broom head.
This invention provides a significant improvement over the prior art. Like prior brooms, the broom has a handle with a mounting end, a central axis, and a multi-sided locking section disposed along the central axis near the mounting end. The locking section has a polygonal cross-section with faces and corners between the faces. The diameter of the locking section between opposed corners defines a major chord of the locking section, while the distance between opposed faces defines a shorter, minor chord.
The broom also has a broom head with two opposed apertures and a set of fibers. The handle is secured to the broom head by a locking bracket.
Unlike in prior brooms, the broom is provided with a plug that has a shaft that can be used to engage whichever of the two opposed apertures on the broom head is not being used for mounting the handle. The bracket comprises a locking aperture that can accommodate the shaft. Thus, the shaft can be passed through the locking aperture and then mounted in the opposed aperture on the broom head. This allows the bracket to be secured to the broom head without the need for additional holes to be drilled into the broom head.
Instead of a handle-locking opening that is closed, like the one shown in the ""862 patent, the bracket has a pair of spaced-apart locking arms that enable the bracket to be attached in the proper position without passing the bracket over either end of the handle. The ends of the locking arms are spaced apart by a distance at least equal to the minor chord of the locking section. This enables the user to engage the bracket to the handle from a radial direction. When secured in position, locking faces on the locking arms engage the faces of the locking section near the comers, limiting rotation of the handle.
The resulting broom is simple to manufacture and easier to assemble, disassemble, and reassemble than previously-known brooms. Further advantages of the invention should be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reviewing the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: